Weekly Update, 9/23/09

What's New?

Happy Fall, Y'all! We're still fog-shrouded in my coastal town, and it's supposed to be the nicest time of the year weather-wise. That's okay, though, it's still my favorite. I see the farms setting out the pumpkin patches during my commute, so I know that we're in the season.

One of the patches was open already. Things 1 & 2 begged Mr. Handsome-and-Handy to stop at Farmer John's, which had opened in honor of the first day of fall yesterday. Fun and Kodak moments ensued. The Things ambushed Mr. H&H in the teepee and pelted him with hay, and we have 3 beautiful pumpkins on our doorstep now. (They even got a tiny pumpkin for each of their teachers! Boy, that Mr. H&H thinks of everything....)



Meanwhile, I got to enjoy my autumn teeth cleaning. It must have been the hygenist's day off, because my dentist cleaned my teeth himself this time. Nice, smooth teeth, but I do wish the man had left a little gum tissue in there.
"Does it hurt?" he asked.
"Mmmmphhh-mmmphh."
"Think of it like a workout," he replied.
Funny, I usually sweat rather than bleed during a spin class. Perhaps I'm not doing it right. (Or perhaps I'm just going to the wrong dentist. :-P)


Shrink for Good Challenge Update:

Well, here's the part where I distract y'all with the saga of the cans. I was back up 2.2 pounds this week. These guys are looking rather lonely. :-(


Meanwhile....

photo credit: Microsoft Office clip art library

Well, the cans aren't the only sassy ones. It's a little scary how easy I've found it to taper this week. Also how my eating hasn't had a corresponding taper. I'm going to go easy on myself and make the best choices possible, while reeling with stress/excitement about the weekend ahead. I can hardly stand waiting!!!

Mantra for the week: "Sugar-free does not mean low calorie."


"And I'd like to thank the Blogcademy..."

Christie O. over at "Baby Tea Leaves" (and of "Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans") had a post today about bloggers who inspire her, and I was one of them! (....Huh? Who, me? That means I really do have to do that triathlon in 3 days, now, doesn't it? ;-) How sweet! And right-back-atcha, because Christie and her blog have inspired me, from the "Hot (or in my case, Halfway) by the Holidays" challenge to our respective triathlon adventures.

She made a nice little bit of what she dubbed "bloggy bling" as an award:


Everyone sing with me now: "Isn't it loooooove-ly! Isn't it wooooon-der-fuuuul!" (Sorry, Stevie W., but that song just popped into my head, and I'm a sucker for the Muse.)

And guess what? I get to share it! Sweeeeet!!! I enjoy reading so many blogs. But I want to thank in particular the following bloggers, both for sharing their life experiences and knowledge through own blogs and for cheering me on as regular commenters here:

Lori of "Finding Radiance," who inspires me not only through her weight loss maintenance, but also her athleticism. She is one of the reasons I felt inspired to "try a tri." (It's supposed to be 100 degrees for mine this weekend...I might not be feeling so fond of Lori on Saturday morning, but I'm sure that will pass. ;-)

Debby of "Debby Weighs In," who inspires me through her long-term weight loss maintenance, her sharing of adventure with food and fitness, and her gorgeous quilts!

Biz of "Biggest Diabetic Loser," who shows people daily that having type 2 diabetes does not mean you have to eat boring food!

Juice, of "All Things Juice," whom I actually met in person! Her delightful blogging has expanded into areas beyond weight loss, and I love that she enjoys making people laugh.

Carla ("MizFit") of MizFitOnline, who generously gives fitness advice and fosters a wonderful community; hers is a blog I read multiple times a day, so that I don't miss any comments.

Lynn of Lynn's Weigh-The Journey Continues, who helped me get started in my journey and continues to guide through sharing her maintenance story.

And lastly, diabetes blogger/writer Jenny Ruhl of Blood Sugar 101, the site that has likely saved my eyesight and limbs, if not my life.

Question: Which blogs inspire you?


Episode 8 of "Fear Factor: The Gym Edition" (or, "Day 288 of Fitness and Fun")

Way back in December 2008, I overcame my fears of going to the gym and gave it a try. It's been great! But as it turns out, there was an unexplored area ripe for a stunt....

MizFit's tale this week regarding "training weak areas", in which Arnold (back in the body building days) cut off his sweats so as to expose (and be aware) of his calves, hit home for me this past week. Albeit inadvertently. I was at the gym, changing for my BodyPump class, and realized that although I had dutifully packed my sports bra, I had forgotten a t-shirt. Whoops. I'd missed the previous week. I didn't really want to miss twice. And given that Charlotte Hilton Andersen was thousands of miles away, I figured I was safe from being cited in any "What Not to Wear: Gym Edition" reprise she had planned. SO...

(Takes deep breath.)

...People, I bared my midriff in BodyPump class.

(Listens for thuds of people falling off their chairs in disbelief. Inserts appropriate legal disclaimers here.)

Yes, that would be my very much work-in-progress, post-2x-preggo-and-laprscopic surgery, fish-belly-pale midriff.

Usually there is at least one Sweet Young Thing (i.e., girl under 40) wearing a sports bra as a top, but not that day. The instructor was a substitute (male...and by the way, is having a Brazilian drill instructor accent a prerequisite for BodyPump instructors?), so class started a little late. I stood there shivering in the A/C and hoping the sports bra would, er, pass the temperature test. (It did. Whew!) Yes, I did feel self-conscious, being a rather zaftig lass up top. It made side planks were rather awkward, that's for sure. (But sports bra also passed the "will my cup overfloweth?" test. Barely.) The class is held in the downstairs room, with 2 walls of windows facing street level and one wall of windows facing a battalion of ellipticals, stair-steppers, and recumbent bikes. A formidable challenge. I have to say it's probably the one day of BodyPump that I did not forget keeping my abs tight for.one.minute.

Naturally, I thought of Roni's "exposure therapy" experience blog post. Like Roni, once I got going with class, I was just another woman (hear-me-roar...*snicker*, couldn't resist) pumping iron, committed to getting a little healthier every day. Yeah! While I did feel like I'd accomplished another milestone in chipping away at my gym modesty, I believe I'm going to keep a spare t-shirt in my trunk from now on...although, if I forget again, well...let's just say the good folks at the gym are just going to have to put on some sunglasses and endure the glare.

Have a good week, everyone! And now for the boring stuff....

Progress last week

7-day blood glucose average: 101 (met goal of less than 120)
7-day fasting blood glucose average: 97 (met goal of less than 120)
This was somewhat of a fake low average, because I got a bad strip reading Sunday morning. My meter read "39," and displayed a thoughtful little message: "Do you need a snack?" I found this amusing, because were it in fact a real "39," let's just say I'd have needed much more than a snack. I felt absolutely normal, though I retested just to be sure, and it was 103.

Weight goal: +2.2 on the week-to-week, -2.2 since the start of the challenge. Still 6.7 away from breaking into the 170s.

Food goals:
- Got in 0 meatless meals and 0 fish meal.
- Fiber: at least 4/7 days were over 30.

Exercise goals: Tapering this week...
- Wednesday: 60 minutes BodyPump class.
- Thursday: 35 minute swim and walking at lunch
- Friday: Lunchtime stroll
- Saturday: Strolled dog
- Sunday: Utmost sloth
- Monday: 50 minute walk at lunch
- Tuesday: 30 minutes stationary bike (*sigh*...reading and exercising at the same time! Woo hoo!)

Goals for this week

7-day blood glucose average goal and fasting numbers: below 120.
Weight goal: Maintain or make progress toward goal.

Food goals:
- Keep tracking.
- 4 or more meatless, low-fat meals and 2 or more fish meals.
- Track fiber. Minimum 30 grams fiber/day. (Include both insoluble and soluble sources.)

Exercise goals:
Tapering this week. Minimum of 30 minutes of non-strenuous activity 5 days/week. Oh, and finish a triathlon.

Misc. goals:
- 7 or more hours sleep/night.

Weekly update, 9/15/09

What's New?

Not much new since the weekend, other than feeling really good about my working out and eating habits lately.

On the "Shrink for Good" challenge, I'm happy to have added back the missing half of can #3 and to have found a new friend to add to the stack:


Meanwhile, the other two cans seem to have gone on a little beach vacation. (Although I'd be much more convinced of this, had they used proper photo editing software.)


I'll be coaxing those sassy cans back into the stack....

In other news, I tried to make a parsnip and carrot mash last night (Inspired by Debby!). Except our bag of baby carrots had expired...which I hadn't realized until I reached in and grabbed a handful. Ew! After washing off the carrot mucus, I dug out some fennel to try instead. (Had bought some because Thing 1 had tried it and liked it on a recent field trip. It's pretty good on salad, too.) I chopped up a bit of the root to boil with the parsnips (which I did peel, although it probably would have been more nutritious unpeeled). I blended them with a dash of 1/2&1/2 and some butter/canola oil spread. (No additional salt or spices.) It was one of those times when I wish we had the blending stick thing, because the blender kept stalling out. But I got it mostly mashed. If you like the taste of fennel, you'd probably like this; the fennel added a nice sweetness to the dish. I couldn't go crazy with it, though, because the parsnips have a lot of carbs (1/2 cup cooked has about 13 grams carbs, but 3 grams fiber). I ate half of what I'd made, and then reluctantly packed up the rest, but it will make a nice lunch side dish for today.

OH yeah! And then there's this leeeetle event called the "See Jane Tri" coming up in...*gulp*...10 DAYS!!! So, here's a question for the triathletes out there: any last-minute advice? Did you taper for your sprint tri? By how much? I was planning to do my usual things, but at lower intensity, next week.

Progress last week

7-day blood glucose average: 103 (met goal of less than 120)
7-day fasting blood glucose average: 106 (met goal of less than 120)
Ah, looking much better on these numbers!

Weight goal: -1.8 on the week-to-week, -4.4 since the start of the challenge. (That's with a little birthday cake & pizza, too, but more days of sticking to my food plan and not going crazy with the nuts.) Still 4.5 away from breaking into the 170s.

Food goals:
- Got in 8 meatless meals and 1 fish meal.
(Fewer leftovers led to lunching at Whole Foods and trying some new vegetarian things. I'd never tried tempeh, and it was tasty with peanut sauce. Friendly on the blood glucose levels, too.)
- Getting there with fiber; at least 4/7 days were over 30.

Exercise goals: Only one strength and no swim this past week, but I felt really good about my workouts this week.
- Wednesday: 30 minute run in the a.m.
- Thursday: 20 minute walk at lunch + 20 minute walk in the evening
- Friday: 40 minutes on the stationary bike at home
- Saturday: Nothing
- Sunday: Nothing
- Monday: Gym - 40 minutes running/walking and 20 minutes arm exercises with weights. I tried the treadmill's 5K setting; next time, I will start with it set on a more comfortable pace and work up, rather than starting fast and having to take walking breaks. Or I'll try the speed interval setting. I felt really slow.
- Tuesday: Brick @ gym - 55 minutes spin class, 15 minutes run on treadmill

Goals for this week

7-day blood glucose average goal and fasting numbers: below 120.
Weight goal: Maintain or make progress toward goal.

Food goals:
- Keep tracking.
- 4 or more meatless, low-fat meals and 2 or more fish meals.
- Track fiber. Minimum 30 grams fiber/day. (Include both insoluble and soluble sources.)

Exercise goals:
Minimum of 30 minutes of activity 5 days/week.

Misc. goals:
- 7 or more hours sleep/night.

Weekly Update, 9/9/09

What's New?

First of all, thanks for all of the comments and encouragement last week! I appreciated it very much! And lots of great ideas for post-workout snacks, too. My workout week was pretty light last week, so not a lot of opportunity to try them out, but this coming week will be different.

"Shrink for Good" update: Sad to say, I'm up 3 pounds from last Wednesday...at least it's not back up 5.6 pounds to my starting weight (or more!), but it still makes a sad picture.



Thank goodness this was a 7 week challenge, not a one week challenge. I want to get those cans back on the stack, and add to them!

Weekends are a real challenge for me, and this past one was no exception. I don't *feel* the struggle per se, I just go with the feeding flow...but then, I feel it later.

Interestingly enough, the challenge was not the art festival we went to. (It was more the grilled meats at home.) Lots of walking around in the redwoods, enjoying the fresh air and movement and beautiful arts & crafts. Part of our fair-going involved selling cookies; it's one of our school's big fundraisers. I took Things 1 and 2 around with a cookie wagon, and Mr. Handsome-and-Handy worked at the booth. Rich irony indeed, a person with type 2 diabetes pushing cookies as big as my head to fair-goers...but it was all in the name of education. Of course, no one said I had to *eat* any of the cookies, but I did eat some parts of my kids' and husband's cookies. I usually prefer chocolate chip, but the peanut butter ones were superb.
See? They really were as big as my head. (My shirt reads, "Come to the dark side, we have cookies... -V" I thought it was an appropriate for the occasion.)

Must say I'm loving the school scene! I helped with library inventory for about an hour yesterday and this morning. Some of the titles cracked us up.
"...Three Days to Perfect..." said the guy who was helping, reading the title off the card catalog card.
"Wow, only three days? Took me at least five..." I remarked.

Progress last week

7-day blood glucose average: 110 (met goal of less than 120)
7-day fasting blood glucose average: 107 (met goal of less than 120)

Weight goal: +3 on the week-to-week, -2.6 since the start of the challenge.

Food goals:
- Got in 3 meatless meals but no fish meals.
- Getting there with fiber; at least 4/7 days were over 30.

Exercise goals: Hmmm...while I met my goal of doing at least 30 minutes of activity 5 days/week, I only got in one strength workout and one swim (no bike or run).
- Wednesday: 60 minutes - BodyPump class.
- Thursday: 30 minutes swim
- Friday: 60 minutes yoga
- Saturday: Nothing
- Sunday: Walked for hours up & down hills at the fair.
- Monday: Nothing
- Tuesday: 30 minute walk at lunchtime.

Goals for this week

7-day blood glucose average goal and fasting numbers: below 120.
Weight goal: Maintain or make progress toward goal.

Food goals:
- Keep tracking.
- 4 or more meatless, low-fat meals and 2 or more fish meals.
- Track fiber. Minimum 30 grams fiber/day. (Include both insoluble and soluble sources.)

Exercise goals:
Minimum of 30 minutes of activity 5 days/week. My workout schedule is going to be a bit wonky this week--with school and family events going on--but I'm hoping to get in at least 1 BodyPump, 1 run, and 1 spin class before next Wednesday. (Yeay, I got in one 30-minute run this morning...I popped awake at 5:15 a.m. and decided to...run?!? Usually that sentence ends, "...roll over and go back to sleep." I know, I'm wondering what they put in those dry-roasted wasabi edamame beans I had for lunch yesterday, too! Found them at Whole Foods, they are really tasty!)

Misc. goals:
- 7 or more hours sleep/night.

The OTHER Weekly Update, 9/2/09

What's New?

As I wrote yesterday, the "Shrink for Good" challenge is ON! We weighed in on Sunday, and the starting number was 188.8. My weight earlier in the week was 182.8, and it's so weird to see how wildly it fluctuated this past week. It went from the flukesome low of 182.8 last Tuesday to 188.8 by Sunday, and then today it was back to 183.2! (Which is actually up .4 week-to-week.)

WTH??? How does anyone go up and back 6 pounds in less than a week? No, it's not that time of the month...which would have been my first guess, too. Probably by not being as careful about how much I was eating. Pizza toppings (I strip off the toppings and eat a little of the end crust for fewer carbs) and hot wings--I mean, salt and not-so-good-for-me fats--played their role. I suspect some portion-creep, since I don't consistently weigh and measure over the weekends. Sluggish, um, *constitution* may also have had something to do with it. Possibly also the change in routine was throwing me for a loop. Well, whatever the reason, the new challenge is at least helping me be more mindful of my food choices. And now, it's the hard part: maintaining that good start, so that I can keep adding to the stack, not (gulp!) taking away.

And it's definitely to the benefit of Second Harvest Food Bank! I liked Christie O's idea of showing a picture, so here's my 5.6 pounds:



















Question: How do you eat after you exercise?

Does anyone else feel ravenous after exercising? I wish I wasn't so darn hungry afterward, because the intake I WANT would in no way be less than the output, calorie-wise. I think my hunger mechanism must be totally screwed up, because I'm getting plenty of calories, but I still get the physical hunger sensation quite a lot (as opposed to just wanting to munch on something, or craving something). Do I need to try something different? I usually go for peanuts, because they're readily available here at work and they are salty. Ideas with less than 15 grams carbohydrate?

Review: HydroFit Class

I usually lap swim, preparing for the triathlon, but I got curious about the HydroFit class on the other side of the pool. The women over there always seem like they're having a nice time, and I thought it might be fun to get some strength exercise in the water instead of on land. So this past Monday, I gave it a try.

I felt a little awkward through the class, you can tell that everyone there is a regular (albeit friendly regulars) and knows the routine. It felt a little more intimidating than a gym class, where people come & go more often and newbies don't stand out as much. Except the yoga class, and HydroFit's social vibe was very much like the yoga class I tried at the gym. Several also recognized me as one of those lap swimmers, and joked about me defecting to the dark side. Muuuuah-hah-haaa!

I picked the foam barbell with the most resistance--hey, I'm a BodyPump regular, right? Well, that was pride before the plunge: next time, I will go a little lower, because I think my form suffered a bit. I also felt a little comical. Unlike my graceful, serene classmates, who chatted comfortably, I churned and bobbed around and contorted as I shoved the large chunks of foam around under the water. When it was time to jog across the pool while working the hand weights, I couldn't get traction and sort of whirled in place. I didn't run into anyone, but I did come close a few times. Like most fitness endeavors, it will take a little time and patience to feel comfortable.

Overall, I'd have to say it was a terrific upper body workout, moderate lower-body work out, but not so much for the abs. Not so sure about the cardio effect, water can be misleading that way. I wasn't as sore as after BodyPump, but I could definitely feel the fatigue in my arms. If the gals don't mind a once-a-week attendee, I could see myself adding this to my routine.

A Case Study: Type 2 Diabetes and Trying a New Food

I like trying new foods, and I'm always on the lookout for treats that are diabetes friendly. I was hoping that the new low fat chocolate pudding I found at Whole Foods this morning would be a good food choice for me: Potter Family Organics low fat chocolate pudding. It has 12 grams of carb (6 sugar, 2 fiber) and is sweetened with agave syrup, which is supposed to be nice & low-glycemic. It was really tasty, sweet but not sickly or artificially so, good chocolatey flavor, and only 70 calories. If you have a fully functional pancreas, or if you test it and don't react in a spike-ful way, I'd highly recommend it.

Didn't work for me, though. When I ate it with my lunch (2 oz. pork and approx. 2 cups of steamed brussel sprouts--which was 24 gm. carb, 8 of those being fiber, so 34 carbs at lunch all together), my 1 hour post-meal reading was 179. 179??? (Yes, that's high for me--I aim for 140 or less at 1 hour post-meal.) I tested again, to make sure I hadn't gotten a bad strip, and the next one said 177. Crikey! 2 hours later, and I'm back down to 106, which is a fine 2-hour post-meal number. Wow. I never would have known about that 1-hour spike if I hadn't tested at both intervals. Looks like I'll have to pass on this one. *sigh*

Progress last week

7-day blood glucose average: 120 (did not met goal of less than 120)
7-day fasting blood glucose average: 107 (met goal of less than 120)
I'm trying to not freak out about this trend, but my morning fasting numbers are running 10-15 points higher than normal. I'm wondering if it could be variations in the test strips? I'm due for an a1c later this month, so that will let me know whether it's a fluke or a real trend. And if it's a real trend, I've got to figure out what it means and what I need to do. The 7-day average had a few higher readings, thanks to an extra bite of donut on Sunday (drove to the donut shop instead of rode bike, too) and yesterday's experiment.

Weight goal: +.4 on the week-to-week, -5.6 since the start of the challenge.

Food goals:
- Got in 4 meatless meals and one fish meals.
- Getting there with fiber; at least 4/7 days were over 30.

Exercise goals: I'm pleased with this week's workouts. I need to get in a longer run during the upcoming week, though.
- Tuesday: 68 minutes, spin class + treadmill run.
- Wednesday: 60 minutes - BodyPump class.
- Thursday: Nothing
- Friday: 50 minutes - 16 minutes run, 4 minutes strength, 30 minutes swim
- Saturday: Nothing
- Sunday: 50 minutes - 20 with dog (slow), 30 alone (moderate).
- Monday: 70 - 10 minutes run and 60 minutes HydroFit (great resistance exercise!)
- Tuesday: 55 minutes spin class <-I'm proud of this one. I was planning on going to the lunchtime class, but I got distracted and when I looked at the clock, 12:01. Drat! But there was another class at 5 p.m., and I made it.

Misc. goals: If you count the hours, I'm meeting the sleep goal. But I'm still getting used to the earlier wake-up. Dreams have greatly improved, though!

Goals for this week

7-day blood glucose average goal and fasting numbers: below 120.
Weight goal: Maintain or make progress toward goal.

Food goals:
- Keep tracking.
- 4 or more meatless, low-fat meals and 2 or more fish meals.
- Track fiber. Minimum 30 grams fiber/day. (Include both insoluble and soluble sources.)

Exercise goals:
Minimum of 30 minutes of workout 5 days/week, with 1 spin class, 1 BodyPump class, 1 swim, and 1 run.

Misc. goals:
- 7 or more hours sleep/night.